1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of portable nets used to catch animals, insects and the like, and more particularly, to the field of collapsible net assemblies having a shaft with a net disposed at one end thereof.
2. Prior Art
Collapsible net assemblies are in wide-spread use by sportsmen and collectors alike for the reason that the collapsibility of the nets permits easy storage and transport of the assemblies. If the support rods which hold the net in an open position cannot be collapsed or somehow reduced in size, the assembly presents a large, bulky structure which readily becomes entangled with other objects, snags on protruding structures and is almost impossible to fit into a storage compartment without significant difficulty. Hence, several types of collapsible net assemblies have been developed for reconfiguring the support rods in a manner that reduces the over-all shape and size of the assembly.
In U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,715,829 issued to Hamilton, 3,815,272 issued to Marleau and 4,870,773 issued to Schmucker et al., the net assemblies therein described each comprise support rods pivotal about a hinge or support disposed at the top of the shaft. In each case, the support rods fold together above the shaft and along its longitudinal axis to reduce the size and shape of the net. Although the net can be placed in a closed position to consolidate the as stringing of the net, the rods protruding from the top of the shaft nevertheless present an elongated structure which inhibits utilization and storage of the assembly due to the length of the assembly and the fragility of the exposed rods. In addition, those nets which rely on hinged rods are inherently weak at the hinged junction, and further require a support member disposed either at the top or the bottom of the rods to maintain the open position of the net, thereby increasing the number of parts in the assembly and the complexity of its operation.
In the net assemblies disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,512,291 issued to E. J. Proulx et al., 4,207,700 issued to Marleau and 4,574,513 issued to Wearing, the support rods used to support the net in the open position slide via guides downward along the body of the shaft where they are stored either on the outside or inside of the shaft. In the net assemblies disclosed by E. J. Proulx et al. and Wearing, the support rods are secured in the open position through the use of a slidable latch which engages the bottom of both rods. In the net assembly disclosed by Marleau, a insertion plug and a third rod interconnecting the two side support rods are used to maintain the arms in an open position. Although these net assemblies provide a way in which to retract the support rods upon dosing the net so as to prevent damage to the exposed support rods and to reduce the over-all length of the assembly, the means by which the support rods are slidably locked into the open position renders the assembly prone to becoming unlocked upon application of normal longitudinal and axial forces to the support rods in the dosed direction (i.e., inward and downward). For example, if the support rods of E. J. Proulx et al. and Wearing are forcefully pulled away from and then suddenly pushed toward the shaft during capture of the prey, the latch will likely become released due to the slidability of the latch in both directions. Similarly, in the assembly disclosed by Marleau, separation of the support rods from one another loosens the seating of the insertion plug within the hinged connection to where the locked arrangement of the support rods becomes unstable and the support rods are vulnerable to damage.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a collapsible net assembly having a minimum of movable components arranged in such a manner as to provide a sturdy configuration of the net assembly when the net is in both the open and closed positions in addition to a simple method for collapsing the support rods about the shaft of the assembly.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a net assembly which is collapsible by means of rotating the support rods about respective pivot points positioned near one end of the shaft.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a net assembly comprising a main body disposed at one end of the shaft having inclined sides and rotatable support arms coupled to the inclined sides for holding the support rods in an angular displacement to one another when in an open position and parallel to one another when in a closed position.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a collapsible net assembly in which the support rods are securely locked into each the open and dosed positions by means of an elastic snap fitting between the main body and the rotatable support arms which permits the support rods to be moved between the two positions by laterally extracting the support arms from the main body, rotating them by 180 degrees and inserting them back into the main body where they are secured by an elastic force.